Elderly Woman Dies After Nurse refuses to give CPR

[ALAYMAN]

A 911 dispatcher pleaded with a nurse at a Bakersfield, Calif., senior living facility to save the life of an elderly woman by giving her CPR, but the nurse said policy did not allow her to, according to a newly released audiotape of the call.

 

[Binaca Chugger]

Not fair to jump to conclusions here.  Hospice care pulls all the plugs, takes away medicines and simply keeps them comfortable while they wait death.  Privacy laws do not allow the discussion of her condition, so no one will know.  Interestingly, the family is not suing, which means they don't believe anything wrong happened?  Most nursing homes will call for an ambulance when a resident has passed or straightlined, or.......  Sometimes demanding the nurse perform CPR is not the right answer.  Sometimes allowing death to happen is the right answer.  We recently sat with a family member who was passing.  When she finally stopped breathing, no one performed CPR.  We hugged and sang and left the room so the body could be prepared.

 

[Binaca Chugger]

Nursing homes call ambulances several times each day.  It becomes a rather common task..... Resident fell, resident needs transport, resident has stopped breathing.....  The common task is charted and the ambulance arrives.  Lights are turned on for the call, but everybody understands the predicament. 

Sounds to me like the 911 worker was zealous, which is not bad.  However, when the care provider is standing there with the patient, maybe the care provider knows more of what is going on than the dispatcher who is trying to do his/her job of providing instructions.  Seems like there was some critical information that was not understood by dispatch.  Dispatch went into hysterics and called the news because it is an interesting story.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Can't add too much to what chupacabra has said, except that I had read that the deceased lady in question did NOT have any DNR orders in place.

 

[JrChurch]

There may have been a DNR in place, in which case the EMTs and emergency care givers are NOT to provide any assistance if the patient passes on.  After 13 years of caring for my elderly mother, we were forced to place her in an assisted living facility.  She was NOT forced to sign a DNR, but did have to indicate what her wishes were should she suffer a medical event  from which she could not recover without some form of treatment/assistance. 

She decided that, at the age of 93, she didn't want to be artificially kept alive via machines, and if it was her time to go, let her go.  Her quality of life sucks right now, and I concur with her wishes.  I hope she goes painlessly and without anxiety, preferably in her sleep where she is safely in her bed.  I've had enough gut-wrenching and stressful medical emergencies to last the rest of my life. 

Modern medicine is great in some ways, but it has not done any favors to some people who suffer from debilitating diseases and are kept alive because of medicines and implants.

Bless your heart for taking care of your mom.  Moved my mom into an assisted-living facility a few months ago, too.  I'd rather have her with me, but she loves being around other people all day. 

I am curious about the policy of the independent facility in the link.  Liability is probably the guiding factor.

 

[ALAYMAN]

ha ha .. ..  i don;t hear that nickname much anymore.... except from one certain brother.. .. and he pretends to forget how i got it...  ;D ...

my dad told me there is actually a new thing now called POLST ...  or.. physicians order for life saving treatment... ...  ...

In many situations I am sure that hard decisions have to be made, and in some of those cases there will be unavoidable tragic scenarios unfold, but the healthcare industry is oftentimes a place that is bottom-line driven by dollars.  Ethical situations like the one in the OP should not occur, unless the patient has made it clear that they don't want medical treatment.  The 911 dispatcher even made it clear that she is the one who incurred all liability for the CPR efforts she authorized, but the nurse on call would not even attempt to get an innocent passer-by (non-worker) to assist.  It's sad that in such a depressed and competitive job market that people would consider their own terms of employment at the expense of a life.    I read a physician's account and rationale of the episode, who essentially said that people live too long anymore anyway.  We are increasingly seeing the culture of death emerge in our society.  I do realize that many people don't want to be kept alive with artificial means, especially to the point of putting their loved ones in a tough spot financially and emotionally, but this case doesn't seem to be cut from that cloth.